| news4all 4 | 2021 | December 20, 2021 |
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Dear Readers,
This year was a very successful one for the OMS-Group with two major milestones in terms of marketing. After the highly regarded webinar "OMS-Certified Products in LMN Interaction with Smart Meter Gateways" in February, it was even nicer to see many OMS members and trade fair visitors again in person at the Enlit Europe in Milan at the highly frequented OMS-Group booth – including our "Product Wall" and the presentation by Charles van Dyck. Please read the details below. In 2021, there was a 71% increase in the number of certified devices with OMS Generation 4. This confirms the steadily increasing importance of the OMS-Group in the interoperable smart meter world. Together with the newly elected Executive Board at the General Meeting in December, we look forward to the new year with confidence. Enjoy reading the newsletter, which highlights these and other OMS topics. We wish you a beautiful, peaceful and above all healthy holiday season! Best regards, Jörg Fischer Head of the OMS Working Group Marketing |
Enlit Europe 2021: OMS-Group Presents Largest Product Wall to Date
After a one-year break, the OMS-Group presented its largest “Products Wall” to date at Enlit Europe in Milan from November 30th to December 2nd. The stand attracted much interest from trade fair visitors. About 50 products from more than 20 manufacturers were exhibited. At the booth, OMS experts answered many questions regarding OMS certification, the Conformance Test Tool and the benefits of OMS-Group membership.
It was a successful reunion of numerous OMS-Group members and trade visitors. The new OMS-Group image video was shown for the first time and will soon also be available on the OMS website. 
The following OMS-Group members were present with their interoperable metering products: Apator, Axioma Metering, B METERS, Carlo Gavazzi, Diehl Metering, Ei Electronics, Elvaco, Engelmann, Friendcom, Ing. Büro H. Lertes, Integra Metering, Kamstrup, Lansen, Maddalena, PiiGAB, Qundis, Relay, Sensus, Sinapsi, E. Wehrle and WEPTECH.
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Product Wall Catalogue on OMS Website
OMS-Group Presentation at Enlit Europe’s Hub Session
Charles van Dyck, former Head of the OMS Working Group Marketing, was involved in the hub session “Enabling successful utility digitalization programmes – A strategy for success” at Data Hub Theatre 5 at Enlit Europe 2021.
His presentation entitled "Interoperability and Certification" gave an overview of the current developments of OMS. 
Since the foundation of the OMS-Group in 2007, which aimed to establish an interoperable metering standard for gas, water, heat and electricity, regular advancements in the field have been achieved – the latest of which being the new collaboration "OMS over LoRaWAN". His speech attracted a large audience. Afterwards, van Dyck was involved in two panel discussions about "Regulatory Standards Landscape and Cost Benefit Analysis", after which many trade fair visitors participated with questions.
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New OMS-Group Executive Board Elected at General Meeting 2021
With two new Executive Board members, the OMS-Group paves the way for interoperable metering in Europe and worldwide. The General Meeting 2021 confirmed Jens Hørdum from Kamstrup, Denmark, and Ulrich Eff from DIEHL Metering, Germany, as new members of the Board of the OMS-Group e. V.
The new Executive Board is looking confidently into the future of interoperable meters (from left to right): Jürgen Frech (Landis + Gyr), Volker Meyer (figawa), Ulrich Eff (DIEHL Metering), Wolfgang Esch (WEPTECH), Volker Eck (Qundis), Prof. Dr. Axel Sikora (Offenburg University), Jens Hørdum (Kamstrup) and Spokesperson Andreas Bolder (METRONA Union). Heinz Lux (KNX) is not in this picture. |
New Head of OMS-Group Marketing (AG5): Jörg Fischer
Jörg Fischer, who has been a member of AG5 "Marketing" since 2015, took over the AG5 chair at the OMS-Group's General Meeting in early December. Charles van Dyck, who was the convener of the group since its founding in 2015, and who was responsible for much of the OMS-Group’s European and worldwide expansion, will remain a member of the group.
Jörg Fischer, Managing Director of Relay GmbH from Paderborn, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of M-Bus components, is planning another webinar for 2022 and, of course, the next trade fair at Enlit Europe 2022 in Frankfurt am Main. |
OMS Trademark – Legally Compliant Use and Future Certified Use
The OMS logo is protected as a trademark for the OMS-Group in Germany, Europe and in many non-European countries. In Germany, there is also protection for the abbreviation "OMS". Use of the OMS logo for measuring instruments and accessories requires a certificate of compliance with the OMS specification and a trademark license. The use of the OMS logo for the promotion of non-certified products may constitute a trademark infringement. At the same time, this may also constitute misleading the public unfairly. Both can lead to claims for injunctive relief and damages. The whole document can be found as a PDF on the OMS website.
As soon as it is possible to acquire the trademark licence, the OMS-Group will post an alert on its website and social media channels. All members have been informed in detail about the plans at the OMS General Meeting in December. |
Executive Board Report on OMS General Meeting 2021
In the second week of December, the annual General Meeting of the OMS-Group took place. Due to corona, the event was organized and held as a web stream. 31 member-companies of the OMS-Group attended, with a total of 48 attendees, including the OMS project manager and the OMS office. In
addition to the regulations and the activity reports as recurring items on the agenda, the election of the Executive Board for the next three years has to be highlighted.
The Board still comprises nine members, two of which are new. Mr Ulrich Eff from Diehl Metering replaces his colleague Mr Hermann Trottler and Mr Jens Hørdum from Kamstrup replaces Mr Carsten Lorenz from Pietro Fiorentini. Both, Hermann Trottler and Carsten Lorenz decided to not run for a further candidature period. We would like to thank the departing board members for their performance during their term and we heartily welcome the new members of the Executive Board team. 
The OMS-Group keeps growing, with currently 68 members from 18 countries. A moderate increase of the membership fee was decided by the General Meeting to retain the financial capacity of the group’s work for the next years. Additionally, the GM passed the Board’s proposal of a licensing scheme for the upcoming OMS EU certification mark. Hopefully, from mid-2022 on it will be possible to have a certification mark on the product to show that it is OMS certified. This possibility will be open to every manufacturer of OMS certified devices, independent of being a member of the OMS-Group or not. Stay in the loop by reading the following news4all to not miss the opportunity to distinguish your products from those of your competitors.
But that is not all. The GM also passed new versions of the OMS specifications, soon to be available on our website. Also, our activities to make OMS certification of bi-directional meters possible will soon lead to an update of the OMS Conformance Test Tool, free of charge for the subscribers of the CTT. It is also intended to expand certification to certain sensors, e.g. smoke alarm devices. 
As this is the season to rest and reflect on this year’s progress, we are proud to state that the OMS-Group has had another successful year. This success is a joint effort from everyone active in the OMS-Group, so I would like to thank you for having invested your time and energy in the service of the OMS-Group! Thank you, have a merry Christmas time, a peaceful and healthy New Year 2022, and keep your expectations high as we intend to meet them. Andreas Bolder Spokesperson of the Executive Board |
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Events 2022
Meet the OMS experts! Here are some of the dates to mark in your calendar: 
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